Charter issues no bar to bonhomie

Despite increased calls for local control here, Staten Island leaders remain tight with the city officials they are trying to shift authority away from.

And if Mayor Mike Bloomberg is concerned at all about the discontent bubbling across the Island over his charter revision panel and the possible dilution of borough presidential power, he didn’t show it during an appearance last week at the old Brookfield landfill.

Bloomberg was surrounded by Island officials at the event, including GOP City Councilmen Jimmy Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) and Vinny Ignizio (R-South Shore), two of the biggest charter revision critics.

But Bloomberg seemed at ease with everyone, especially Borough President Jim Molinaro.

“No borough president has ever worked harder for his borough than Jim,” Bloomberg said. “There are others who worked equally hard, but this guy has spared nothing, no stone unturned. He never stops working for the people of Staten Island.”

Said Bloomberg, “This guy really has been a leader for Staten Island. When he and I are gone, people should look back and thank Jim Molinaro for what he did for this borough.”

Quite an endorsement. Perhaps Molinaro should send a transcript of Bloomberg’s comments to the charter panel.

“Anything I could say would seem self-serving,” Molinaro told us later. “I’ve always tried to maintain a good relationship with the mayor.”

Bloomberg has said that he does not favor eliminating the borough presidents.

Ignizio seems to have replaced Oddo as City Hall’s sharpest GOP dissident, but even he was full of praise for Bloomberg, whom he said kept the Brookfield project alive.

“I’m usually known for saying things that people don’t always appreciate,” said Ignizio, “but I want to express my gratitude to Mayor Bloomberg.”

That, of course, was in marked contrast to Ignizio’s comments at a civic roundtable meeting the following night, where he called the charter-revision process a “sham” and a “farce” and said it was “political payback” from Bloomberg to fellow billionaire Ron Lauder.

“We all share a good relationship with the mayor,” Ignizio told us. “And when we disagree, we sometimes disagree publicly.”

Speaking at Brookfield, Oddo quipped that given his “close personal relationship” with Bloomberg over the last eight years, “I think I have a pretty good shot in that will.”

“I’ll make sure you’re mentioned,” Bloomberg retorted.

BOOKENDS

They are the Council’s odd couple: Oddo, the red-meat GOP minority leader, and Christine Quinn, the first openly gay and female Speaker.

The relationship is long and enduring.

The two were Council staffers together, and went to the Council in special elections on the same night in 1999. Oddo served on the Health Committee, which Ms. Quinn chaired.

Ms. Quinn visited the Island for an Oddo-sponsored civic roundtable last week.

“I want you to get to know her,” Oddo said at the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield. “It’s good for Staten Island that we have a relationship with the Speaker.”

Said Oddo, “She knows this borough inside and out.”

Ms. Quinn said that Oddo was the Council member she was closest to.

“How is that possible?” she said. “He’s a great friend, a great Minority Leader, and an obsessive-compulsive City Council member.”

QUINN STILL LIKES MIKE

Even though she pointedly bowed out of Democratic Rep. Mike McMahon’s fund-raiser last week, Ms. Quinn said she remains a fan of the Democratic lawmaker.

Ms. Quinn cancelled her appearance at the fund-raiser after McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) voted “no” on the health care bill.

“I don’t agree with the position he took,” she told us. “That said, I know Mike is somebody who cares deeply about health care.”

Without McMahon, she said, the Island would not be home to a federally qualified health center, for example.

“I stand by my endorsement of the congressman and I’m sure I’ll be at other [fund-raisers] if I’m invited or asked to participate,” she told us.

FLOWERS AND THORNS

The sultry temperatures and Mets’ opening-day win last week must have put the zap on his head, because Oddo was even lauding former GOP Borough President Guy Molinari.

Oddo hasn’t always seen eye to eye with Guy, to say the least.

But Oddo reminded the civic crowd of how Molinari once brought 10,000 people to an MTA hearing back in the day, and 5,000 to a Fresh Kills meeting.

“I’ve had my battles with him, but Guy was one of a kind,” Oddo said.

And still is, the last time we looked.

Oddo, however, wasn’t so kind to city transportation commissioner Jeannette Sadik-Khan.